There's work in welding

Industries demand the skill more than a decade or two ago

The oil and gas industry's prosperity can be measured by the demand for
welders, and right now it's high.

Hector R. Cantu, 49, recalls the highs and lows of the industry over
the past three decades. The industry boomed in the 1970s and with it
came oil rigs, oil wells and refineries. The demand for qualified
welders was high and high-earning jobs were for the taking, he said.
Then came the 1980s.

"Nineteen-eighty-three was a bad year. I only made $11,000 that
year," Cantu said. "The year before, I had made about $50,000. It
picked up again in 1985, only to take another dip in about 1989. Every
time the industry dips, we lose welders who take up other jobs, such as
truck driving, to make ends meet. We never get all of them back when
the industry recuperates."

Welding has fallen out of favor over the past two decades as young
laborers pursue cleaner, safer and less physically demanding work. That
leaves a gap in a workforce needed to do much of the nation's important
work.

The demand for qualified welders is on the rise not only to work in
the oil and gas industry, but also to repair and upgrade the nation's
aging infrastructure. Most of the major dams, reservoirs, hydroelectric
plants and irrigation systems are more than 50 years old, according to
the National Research Council and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

A global industrial boom and last hurricane season also contribute
to the demand. Large projects and reconstruction along the Gulf Coast
demand skilled workers and there aren't enough welders to go
around.

There are about 500,000 welders employed in the United States with
the average age in the mid-50s, according to the American Welding
Society.

"Most of the welders are or will be nearing retirement and we think
we'll have a shortage of 200,000 welders by 2010," said Adrienne
Zalkind, a spokeswoman for the society. "With virtually all
construction and manufacturing companies requiring some form of
welding, from the production of parts to their maintenance and repair,
the field continues to be a thriving industry."

Welding expenditures represent $34.1 billion annually, Zalkin said.
The National Tooling and Machining Association reports that 40 percent
of its members are turning away business because they don't have enough
skilled welders. Through 2012, welding jobs are expected to increase 10
percent to 20 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's
"Occupational Outlook Handbook."

Skilled workers must be found, trained and retained, said Juan Diaz,
workforce coordinator with the Craft Training Center of the Coastal
Bend. The center trains area welders, plumbers, electricians and other
industrial tradespeople and is trying to find interested students as
early as possible.

The center has worked with Moody High School since at least 1989 and
has formed partnerships with Miller, Tuloso-Midway and West Oso high
schools. It is forming partnerships with King, Carroll and Ray high
schools, Diaz said.

He has seen the program grow in the past two years to the point that
the center is building a new facility to house the number of students
interested in learning various crafts.

"This term alone, we had 41 new student welders and that's all we
can hold," Diaz said. "About 20 were returning from last term for
additional training and about 15 were straight from high school. The
push is there now, but retention is hard because they get skilled
enough to work and they leave the program."

Arnold Campos Jr., Cantu's stepson, said he became interested in
welding after seeing him work and began classes at the center two years
ago. He's in the sixth of seven terms at the center. High wages offered
elsewhere were a strong lure not so long ago, but now, he said, local
wages have caught up.

"When I started looking for a job, they weren't hard to find," said
Campos, 29, who works for Dixie Iron Works in Alice. "I got offers from
places in Dallas that offered $19 an hour more than what I was earning
at the time. They offer these high-paying jobs here, so I don't have to
go far from home."

Campos feels the interest in crafts and trades is on the rise. When
he started classes at the center, he was one of 10 students in the
welding class. In less than a year, the class had doubled in size.

"Each class gets bigger each term because news is spreading that
industries are paying good money for welders," Campos said. "The beauty
of welding is that it's not a talent. It's a skill that can be taught
and there's steady work offering great benefits packages. You don't
have to jump from job to job like you did 10 and 20 years ago. It's a
different career."